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After efforts to form a company with the man failed, Renstrom worked on replicating the unpatented solder in a squeezable tube. He initially manufactured the product in his basement and then went from store to store selling it. The solder was an immediate success and gave
Renstrom financial security.
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in 1956. He divorced his third wife, Elizabeth
Renstrom, in 1976. She was the mother of Renstrom's younger daughter, Elizabeth Ann "Lisa" Renstrom. In 1978, he married his fourth wife, Carmen Patricia de Alba, of Mexico City. Carmen was the mother of his only son, Carlos Rene Renstrom, who was four
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Similar curlers were selling in the U.S. for about 5 cents each. Renstrom improved the curler's design and obtained his first patent for a simple metal hair curler on July 14, 1936. He christened the curler the Tip Top Easy Curler – four aluminum curlers on a card priced at 10 cents a card. The
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The sale of Tip-Top
Products made Renstrom a very wealthy man. In retirement he continued to pursue business ventures that interested him: the development of the Granada Royale Hometel and the building of The Omaha Tower, both in Omaha. He donated to charities he cared about, including
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to fly to whatever destination interested him. A friend of
Renstrom's once told a reporter that he had agreed to accompany Renstrom on what he thought was a ten-day trip to Glasgow and Paris. By week five, the friend was pleading with Renstrom to start thinking about returning home.
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After his success with his solder product, Renstrom was looking for his next opportunity. His sister, Grace, had returned from Europe with a poorly made metal hair curler, purchased in
Germany, that she showed to Renstrom. The curler was called the "Ruck Zuck".
65:. When the Depression quickly reduced his sales of church bulletin boards, Renstrom founded Tip-Top Products Company and went looking for a product to sell. While selling door-to-door, Renstrom had crossed paths with a gentleman selling heatless liquid
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Renstrom married four times. He divorced his first wife, Catherine A. Gannon, in 1953. She was the mother of his elder daughter, Vera Pearl
Kirkwood. His second wife, Genevieve L. Taylor, died of
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When the war ended, he converted his curler production to plastic and expanded his hair product line. By 1964, Renstrom's company had received 24 patents and was manufacturing over 600 products.
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immigrant Nils August
Renstrom and his Iowa-born wife, Vera Pearl Bartlett. Renstrom's father was a general laborer who had a knack for mechanics. He filed several patents, including one for an
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honeymooned there. As the popularity of the area grew, Renstrom continued to expand the property, which today is called the Villa Vera Hotel & Racquet Club.
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Within a year he had purchased a building, and hired production and sales staffs. The building
Renstrom purchased was at 1508 Burt Street in Omaha.
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GenealogyBank.com (January 1, 1894). "Annual Report of the
Commissioner of Patents for the Year". Serial Set Vol. No.3173 (S.Misc.Doc. 127): 302.
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of Omaha. He entertained at homes in Omaha, Acapulco, Miami, Ontario, Canada, and
Minnesota. In 1969, he dined twice with President
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intervened and aluminum was at a premium, Renstrom retooled the machines that had once produced curlers to fabricate military
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Following his graduation from high school, Renstrom embarked on a variety of sales positions, including selling
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Renstrom's experience working with the War Department on his military contracts led him to run for office as a
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in The Bahamas, hunted in Europe and Canada, and photographed big game in Africa. Renstrom used his private
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After his death, Renstrom's heirs sub-divided his 84-acre horse farm at 10001 Pacific Street in Omaha for
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Renstrom attended the public schools in Omaha, graduating from the now-defunct Commerce High School.
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Elizabeth Ann "Lisa" Renstrom, Renstrom's youngest daughter, is a past president of
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In the 1950s, Renstrom built a family vacation home in what was then the emerging
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In 1964, Renstrom sold his Tip-Top Products Company to Rayette Co., (later named
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Carl W. Renstrom died November 13, 1981, in Omaha, Nebraska, and was buried in
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134:. But mainly, Renstrom traveled. He skied in Switzerland, fished in Mexico,
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Jordan, Steve (December 23, 1983). "Micek To Purchase Carl Renstrom House".
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Two of Renstrom's grandsons, by his elder daughter Vera Pearl Renstrom, are
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crates. His production building had to expand to accommodate the volume.
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in what was originally the Renstrom family home (Villa No. 6), with
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and other hair accessories through his company, Tip-Top Products.
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Renstrom Urges Members to Enlist Friends and Neighbors
274:. Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Omaha, NE. Archived from
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of Acapulco, Mexico. Renstrom christened the property
345:. The University of Nebraska at Omaha. Archived from
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117:), of Minneapolis, Minnesota for $ 25 million.
42:, Nebraska on September 27, 1902. His parents were
107:. He was elected in 1944 and served through 1948.
81:consumer response to the curler was overwhelming.
509:. Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago, IL. Archived from
632:. Magnet, Real Music Alternatives. May 7, 2007
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582:The Omaha World-Herald Newspaper, Omaha, NE
564:The Omaha World-Herald Newspaper, Omaha, NE
454:The Omaha World-Herald Newspaper, Omaha, NE
428:The Omaha World-Herald Newspaper, Omaha, NE
397:The Omaha World-Herald Newspaper, Omaha, NE
660:Carl Renstrom Biography – Omaha Innovators
630:"Meat Puppets: O Brother, Where Art Thou?"
189:lived at Villa Vera for three years, and
26:businessman who made his fortune selling
655:Carl W. Renstrom's Find A Grave Memorial
395:"Death Ends Renstrom's Business Story".
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534:"She reaches peak of the Sierra Club"
471:"Villa Vera Hotel & Racquet Club"
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695:20th-century American businesspeople
597:"Meet the New Sierra Club President"
503:"It's Getting Cold: Acapulco Hotels"
399:. November 15, 1981. pp. 1, 7.
293:Internet Social Security Death Index
685:Businesspeople from Omaha, Nebraska
206:at the time of his father's death.
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566:. December 27, 1981. p. 3B.
456:. January 26, 1964. p. 11.
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473:. World Investment News. 2000
452:"Omahans Hold Many Patents".
426:"A 'Tip-Top' Success Story".
343:"Standing Tall With Sierra"
272:"Forest Lawn Omaha Burials"
105:Douglas County Commissioner
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690:History of Omaha, Nebraska
242:, founding members of the
540:. Business North Carolina
280:Index Lookup by Last name
401:Curlers Made Omahan Rich
270:Renstrom, Carl Willard.
319:Cite journal requires
601:The Planet Newsletter
38:Renstrom was born in
20:Carl Willard Renstrom
211:Forest Lawn Cemetery
16:American businessman
595:Barry, John Byrne.
513:on October 10, 2013
430:. February 4, 1945.
532:Elmore, Cindy J.
501:Hoekstra, David.
458:Solder to Curlers
278:on July 4, 2013.
50:blanket in 1896.
24:multi-millionaire
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251:Meat Puppets
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680:1981 deaths
675:1902 births
244:alternative
187:Lana Turner
153:resort town
136:scuba dived
96:throws and
94:barbed wire
69:in a can.
669:Categories
257:References
222:apartments
157:Villa Vera
121:Retirement
90:wire reels
34:Early life
636:March 27,
611:March 27,
544:March 27,
517:March 27,
477:March 27,
353:March 27,
247:punk rock
175:Mike Todd
98:land mine
203:leukemia
173:married
147:Acapulco
213:there.
165:jet set
140:Learjet
115:Faberge
44:Swedish
67:solder
249:band
84:When
40:Omaha
638:2013
613:2013
546:2013
519:2013
479:2013
355:2013
325:help
238:and
236:Cris
181:and
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